


Reason

by myheartgoesdokidoki



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: F/M, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, I just hope you can enjoy this family moment, Nara Week (Naruto), Other, They all need to be protected, no beta we die like men, no touchup either because deadline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26617228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myheartgoesdokidoki/pseuds/myheartgoesdokidoki
Summary: Shikamaru, Temari, and Shikadai having a moment in one evening time
Relationships: Nara Shikadai & Nara Shikamaru & Temari, Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Kudos: 33





	Reason

**Author's Note:**

> AUTHORIAL WARNING: This was written very, very hastily because I was trying to catch up with the Nara Week deadline. Still, I hope you enjoy the story!

“Temari, Shikadai, I’m home”,

Shikadai, who was busy playing puzzles with his mom Temari, suddenly ran off to the door to greet his dad. Temari followed him behind, her face donning an amused smile. Shikamaru inhaled with relief as he saw his wife and his son welcoming him. Warmth, he missed the warmth of being home with his family. He hugged Shikadai’s little body and carried him in his arms.

“Whoa, little Dai, you’re so heavy now!” he remarked jokingly. Shikadai giggled with a hearty laugh, it’s not very often he got to hug his busy dad in the week. 

“It’s a payback on you for missing dinners in the last three days Dad”, replied Shikadai. Temari and Shikamaru chuckled hearing their son’s remark.

Shikamaru often came late, as the natural consequence of helping Naruto to carry Konoha on his shoulders. Temari had understood this since even before they got married, as she was someone who was shouldered with the responsibility of looking for her siblings since she was 10 years old. Her being an active kunoichi also meant sometimes she went out for missions too, so her and Shikamaru tried to work on their schedules to spend family time at least once a week. On the other hand, she also wanted her family to cherish their time together, so she always made sure they had something special to look forward to every time Shikamaru came home early.

“I cooked something special for us today”, said Temari with a soft smile, the kind she always reserved for her loved ones no matter how tired she was. With Shikadai still in his arms, Shikamaru gave her a light squeeze on her hand and grinned.

“I really don’t know how I could be so lucky with you”, 

Shikadai saw his mom’s cheeks looking flustered now. But it’s not his mom if she could not regain her composure quickly every time his father teased her. Shikadai giggled when Temari replied, “Who taught you to be this romantic? Did Sai give you one of his old books”

Shikamaru scratched his head that did not feel itchy at all and Temari just shook her head with a smile. Shikadai knew they were going to have a great dinner tonight and his belly was full of food thirty minutes later.

——

“Dad”

“Yes, Shikadai?” Shikamaru replied, his eyes still trained on the shogi board in front of him.

“Why did you marry mom?” Shikadai’s green eyes looking at Shikamaru inquisitively. Shikamaru gave his son a small grin, memories of his first dates with Temari in his head.

“Because I love her”, he said firmly.

“If you love her, why do you not come home more often, Dad? Mom misses you”

Shikamaru froze in a second. He might be a genius strategist, but he never anticipated to receive this kind of question from his son. Did I do anything wrong? He wondered.

“What makes you think so?”

“She likes to look at the picture of you every time she is having dango”,

Shikamaru let out a soft chuckle. He knew how much Temari loved her dango, and the fact that it was the first meal they had in their first date. Another thing he never expected also is to know how cheesy Temari could be when he was not around. He made a note to himself to tease her about it later.

“Oh I understand”,

“So?” Shikadai asked.

Shikamaru let out a sigh. “Son... You will understand what I do when you get older. Your mom has understood this and that’s how I was sure she was the one for me”,

“But you never had time for dinners with us”, Shikadai pouted. Shikamaru knew now is not the best time to point out to Shikadai how adorable he looked when he was grumpy, so he settled on focusing to how his son felt about his absence from their family dinners.

“I’m so sorry about it, I promise to come home more”, said Shikamaru, he reassuringly patted Shikadai’s back.

Shikadai smiled. “Thabk you, Dad. So what are you actually doing?”

“I helped Naruto with planning policies and making sure they created the impact we wanted to see. And it takes so much time, Son, not even your 180 IQ would be enough to understand it. That’s why I need to be in office often. Do you already know what you want to be?”

Shikadai put his hands in a fist, eyes full of enthusiasm. “I want to be a shinobi! Like you and Mom. I want to protect people!”

Shikamaru patted Shikadai’s head gently. “Choose the path that will allow you to make impact. I wanted to be Naruto’s assistant because we have the same vision and love for this village,” Deep in his heart, he is more than amused with the revelation that Shikadai inherits what him and Temari have in common: a strong duty to protect. For Temari, it is her Suna family and the Nara clan. For Shikamaru, it is the Nara clan and the whole Konoha. For Shikadai?

“The question is, you need to find out first, who do you want to protect?”

Shikadai’s green eyes lit up when Shikamaru threw him the question. 

“My friends. Each one of them. I want to be a strong and smart shinobi so I can help out everyone when they have problems”,

The answer came out as nothing but firm and assertive. Shikamaru was surprised at the fiery determination his son had displayed in such a tender age. He really inherited Temari’s ambition and Shikamaru was again reminded of how grateful he was to marry the best woman for him.

“Whatever you want to do, make us proud”, told Shikamaru, giving his son a gentle smile. “We don’t need you to be the best shinobi, but we want you to know being a shinobi is a responsibility. You have the capability to help people around you. Being blessed with the ability to see things clearer than others comes with the duty to protect them”,

“Was that why you wanted to be a shinobi too, Dad?” asked Shikadai curiously.

Hearing his son’s straightforward question, Shikamaru gave a soft chuckle. “I used to think being a shinobi is such a drag, especially with how your mom almost beat me”, He fondly recalled the first time where he got to interact with his now-wife for the first time. Along with that, he remembered how he used to call her ‘The Cruelest Kunoichi’ out of a premature judgment. So much had changed since Temari saved him from the Sound villages, Asuma would be proud.

“But Mirai’s dad, Asuma Sarutobi who was my mentor, told me that it is a shinobi’s duty to protect the King. Can you guess who the king is?” asked Shikamaru back to his son.

“That’s easy”, said Shikadai confidently. “It’s the Hokage, isn’t it? A shinobi must protect the Hokage”,

Shikamaru shook his head. “I thought so too, but I was wrong”,

Shikadai put his finger up on his chin, trying to come up with an answer.

“What about the village? The king is the village”,

“Nice answer, that’s my boy”, Shikamaru said, as he patted his hand on Shikadai’s head approvingly. “The exact answer from Asuma was the children, but yours was close enough”,

Shikadai gaped his mouth in wonder. “The children? Why?”

“Yeah, why the children, Shikamaru? They are annoying”, said Temari with a smirk. She joined in the conversation between the father and the son, bringing them three cups of tea and some chocolate bars.

“Mommm”, whined Shikadai. Temari giggled and used her hand pat Shikadai’s head.

“Not you though, you are an exception because you are my child”, Temari remarked. Shikamaru couldn’t help but smile, seeing the loves of his life interacting in front of his eyes. For some reasons, watching his family feels so soothing and comforting. He was glad his dad had told him to reconsider his disdain for marriage, because if he were to be honest, marrying Temari is the best decision he had ever made. Shikadai, who inherits his colors except for his eyes, is the proof of his and Temari’s love together.

Watching his wife teasing his son, now Shikamaru is reminded again of why he is doing what he is doing right now. His job, as demanding as it is, is his way to make sure he could make a future that Shikadai could live for. He wanted to make a future so safe that him and Temari could retire from their shinobi service in peace, watching Shikadai grow up and make his own life. That will be wonderful.

“Earth to Shikamaru, you haven’t answered your son’s question”, said Temari in a lighthearted tone. Her teasing glint still does not disappear from her eyes. Shikamaru blinked, Shikadai’s big doe eyes looking at him intently. _Right, he has to answer the question._

“Because...”, Shikamaru deliberately paused on his answer, out of his quiet enjoyment of seeing his son’s expression shifting from curious to increasingly annoyed. Temari’s face also did the same thing as their son. Shikamaru took note again of how similar the two of them are.

“Because they are the future, they are the inheritors of the Will of Fire, that includes you. So remember this: Intelligence is nothing when you can’t use it to create better lives for people around you”, replied Shikamaru with a smile.

Shikadai nodded his head enthusiastically. “Dad, I think I know what I want to be in the future”,

“What is that?”, asked Shikamaru back.

“I want to be just like you and mom!” Shikadai said with firmness that could stoke fire. Shikamaru looked at Temari and she saw her smiling back at him. Answering the duty to protect others was not a strange thing to them. Knowing how Shikadai willingly wanted to be like them made them realize they needed to talk more to him about it. That would be a conversation for another day, but for now, they both knew one thing: they knew their legacy would be safe in Shikadai’s hands.

**Author's Note:**

> The Naras are one of my favorite families in Naruto and I would love to write more of them. I'm gonna be real honest with you all though, I read Naruto 10 years ago and might have forgotten some of the wise quotes, so please forgive me if I did anything wrong in that regard. ^_^v Thank you for reading my story!


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